Judy Jarvis
Photo courtesy of Vassar College Communications
Judy Jarvis, who served as director of Vassar College's LGBTQ Center and Women's Center, has been selected to lead Princeton University's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Center. She will begin Jan. 18.
Jarvis started at Vassar in 2012, leading the two centers' daily operations and developing campus-wide programs for students. She partnered with students, faculty and administrators to create workshops, trainings and events on gender, sexuality, race, social justice, inclusion and other topics, including Vassar's First Year LGBTQ Program, the Queer and Trans Performance Series, and the Unpacking Queer Whiteness Series.
As director of Princeton's LGBT Center, Jarvis will lead the center's overall programs and services to support a safe and welcoming campus environment.
Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Students Tom Dunne said Jarvis will bring wonderful experience and enthusiasm to the position.
"One of our key objectives in conducting this search was to find a director who could maintain the strong roots of the program and also identify opportunities for new growth," Dunne said. "We placed a high emphasis on experience with identity development and intersections of identities, and Judy has an impressive record of sustained commitment to this important work. She also has a creative bent, and an infectious energy and enthusiasm for engaging students."
Jarvis' duties at Princeton will include: working with students, staff, faculty and alumni to continue existing LGBT programs and create new ones; helping review University policies that support LGBT issues as part of the University's broader diversity initiatives; developing campus trainings to increase understanding of LGBT topics; leading community outreach efforts for the LGBT Center; and providing support to individual students seeking assistance from the LGBT Center.
"The LGBT Center is a resource for the entire University, and a vibrant and inclusive student community is central to the center's mission," Dunne said. "I am grateful for the leadership and dedication of the center's program coordinator, Andy Cofino, while we searched for a new director, and I believe Princeton is quite fortunate to have such a strong leadership team moving forward."
Jarvis said she is eager to join Princeton's LGBT Center.
"I look forward to continuing to do what I am most passionate about: supporting and advocating for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community, and helping educate students, faculty and staff about related issues," Jarvis said. "The Princeton LGBT Center has been a model in the field for many years. I am excited to work with students and colleagues on current programs and think together about additional initiatives that could meet the needs of students at Princeton."
Jarvis said she also is interested in creating more educational opportunities on campus.
"I hope to partner with students and colleagues to facilitate a university culture that values diversity and inclusion across a range of identities," she said. "At Vassar, I have enjoyed developing programs on sexuality, gender, race and other critical issues, such as weekly workshops for first-year LGBTQQIA students, social justice dialogues, and transgender allyship trainings."
Prior to working at Vassar, Jarvis was an associate consultant at LFA Group, a social justice-focused evaluation consulting firm. She also worked as a graduate assistant at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology's Rainbow Lounge, which provides support and programming for LGBT students.
Jarvis has served as a teacher at Barnard College's Pre-College Program, leading a course on the psychology of gender difference for three summers, and also acted as guest lecturer at Barnard's Women's Leadership Institute for high school students, leading workshops on identity and combatting stereotypes.
She is a member of the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals and coordinates monthly professional development webinars for the group.
Jarvis earned her bachelor's degree in psychology and media studies from Vassar and her master's of education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She served as co-founder and president of the student LGBTQ activist group "ACT OUT" while an undergraduate at Vassar, and was co-chair of the Harvard Graduate School of Education student group QueerED.
Jarvis succeeds Debbie Bazarsky, who is manager of diversity and inclusion for Princeton's Office of Human Resources.
